Democratic caucus endorses Mattiello's return as R.I. House speaker

Patrick Anderson Journal Staff Writer patrickanderso_

Thursday

Nov 8, 2018 at 9:23 PMNov 8, 2018 at 11:11 PM

CRANSTON, R.I. — House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello is poised to retain control of the state House of Representatives after emerging from a contentious caucus of House Democrats on Thursday night with the majority needed to return his leadership team to power in January.

With protesters out on the street chanting and calling for his ouster, Mattiello was endorsed on a 44 to 21 vote of Democratic lawmakers and those just elected at a closed-door meeting inside the Chapel Grille restaurant in Cranston. (One representative was absent.)

The opposition called for changes to House rules they say concentrate too much power in the hands of the speaker and create an opaque, top-down process driven by favors and retribution.

But as he emerged from the restaurant after more than an hour of tense discussion, Mattiello said he was pleased with having received the endorsement of two-thirds of the 66 Democrats in the 75-member House.

"The story is, I have the votes to be speaker even with a coordinated attack on me. It seems as though the people who didn't vote for me are all progressives," Mattiello told reporters outside the restaurant. "All of the moderate and conservative members of the room are solidly behind me and we have a lot of liberals and progressives that are solidly behind me, but there is a group of progressives that don't support me. I will continue to work to reach out to them and work with them to address concerns."

Only a majority vote of the full House can elect the speaker, so Mattiello cannot officially secure the position until the House returns to session in January.

But unlike most years in which a sitting speaker returns, the divisions within the House were laid bare Thursday night by the dissenters — most of them women — who said Mattiello was ruling the chamber like an autocrat.

"A vote for Nicholas Mattiello to be speaker is a vote for non-transparency and a non-open chamber," Rep. Kathleen Fogarty, D-South Kingstown, said after the caucus, her view supported by colleagues who also voted against Mattiello. "Rhode Islanders wanted comprehensive reform. The way things are currently being done is not working. This group ... reflects the big tent that is our party. We are not the campaign-slogan gimmick of ultra progressives or extremist minorities or a mob."

Mattiello opponents said they were disappointed the speaker did not speak to the caucus and try to address their concerns before the vote.

Their primary demand: loosen leadership control of legislation moving through the House, allow more bills to make it out of committees and allow rank-and-file members greater say in what makes it to the floor.

As an example of their concerns, Bristol Democrat Susan Donovan said she was not allowed to see the rewritten version of high-profile pay-equity legislation she was the lead sponsor of until it made it to the floor for a vote.

House Republicans have made changing rules to limit the speaker's power their top priority and the dissident Democrats Thursday said they are open to working with the GOP toward that end.

"I don't know where that's coming from," Mattiello told reporters when asked if there would be retribution against those who voted against him, including three who currently chair committees.

Rarely do party caucuses bring out the public, but dozens of protesters came to the Chapel View shopping center to protest Mattiello's reign.

They chanted "vote no" and held signs like "Free House." But after complaints from shopping center management they were moved away from the restaurant entrance by police.

Earlier Thursday evening at the State House, the Senate held an open caucus that revealed potential conflict in that typically staid chamber, although there was far less drama than the House.

President Dominick Ruggerio was endorsed by 31 of 32 Democrats present. Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey was also reelected.

The one abstention was just-elected Sam Bell of Providence, who along with Sen. Donna Nesselbush of Pawtucket attempted to change caucus rules in a number of technical and procedural ways to try to empower rank-and-file senators.

Nesselbush and Bell recently proposed electing General Assembly leaders by secret ballot, which they believe the law already requires, and sparred with McCaffrey on parliamentary procedure. Their amendments ultimately failed to gain any additional votes.

Nesselbush called requiring a two-thirds vote to change caucus rules an "abuse of power."

"Just the idea of public servants voting in secret seems to run counter to everything Democrats in the state of Rhode Island stand for, openness in government and transparency," Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Conley said in opposition to the proposed changes.

The twenty-one members of the Democratic Caucus who refused to support Nicolas Mattiello as Speaker: